The Battle of Lake Champlain is
a jewel to contemplate. It is a battle of the weak against the
strong, the farmer against the professional soldier. This battle
shows what a small, untrained group of men can do to a large,
trained navy, during the heat of combat. It portrays a kind
father trying to be gentle to a rebellious child, and what that
child can do. Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander, could have
annihilated the rebels in the lakes area many times but did not.
As Carleton slowly built his fleet for the coming campaign season,
he allowed Benedict Arnold, the commander of the rebels, to do
the same. Arnold was able to accomplish this only after
persuading Congress not to abandon New York north of Albany. At
this point, the morale of the rebels was so low that Carleton
could have easily invaded and cut New England from the rest of
the colonies, but he didnt.

On the 11th, Arnold disregarded
the orders of Horatio Gates, the rebel commander of the Northern
department, which included not assume wanton risk
nor to make a display of his power. [2]. It was
originally Gates plan to keep the fleet for defensive and
offensive measures in the future. Arnold, however, was unable to
resist the temptation of using the fleet he built to fight the
British. Royal Savage and Enterprise were sent as
decoys to lure British to the main body of the American fleet.
The day was clear and the wind was out of the North. Lady
Maria was at the lead of the British fleet. Had Carleton sent
out reconnoitres, the British could have known exactly where the
rebels were hiding. Lady Maria passed Valcour Island at
full sail, and completely missed the rebel fleet hiding in the
strait between the island and the mainland. Indians in league
with the British began a musket fire at the rebels from the
Island, but were out of effective range. Arnold had four hours to
arrange his fleet as the British tried desperately to turn around
and face the rebel fleet, but they hadnt expected to meet
the Americans so soon and the wind was against them. Due to Chief
of Operations Capt. Pringles mismanagement, the smaller
boats got into range before the bigger boats. However, a few
British bateaux and the Carleton were able to conquer the wind
and moved (without orders) towards the enemy fleet.

2/6 The Battle begins

As the tension mounted, the
rebel fleet sent out the Congress (Arnolds flagship),
Royal Savage, and two other gondolas. Carleton ran
through the British line and dropped anchor. A broadside was
initiated by the Carleton and the battle was begun at 11:00.
According to a contemporary London Gazette, the Carleton
was commanded by Lt. Dacres, who after the battle, would win
recognition from Sir Guy Carleton and Capt. Pringle for his
bravery upon engaging five rebel ships at once and refusing to
retreat (against orders) until the Generals own
representative came aboard with orders to desist. Dacres was
severely wounded during the first broadside by the rebel galleys,
and was assisted to his cabin. When Dacres reached his quarters,
he found the first mate (Mr. Brown), having the remains of a
mangled arm being amputated by the ships doctor. With
Dacres and Brown wounded, teenager Edward Pellew, the
youngest officer on the ship, was quickly forced to learn to be a
captain. The Carleton was being riddled by the rebel
barrage. At least half the crew was wounded, and there was two
foot of water in the hold. Finally the flagship Lady Maria signalled the Carleton get out of range. The Carleton tried
to acknowledge the return to line signal, but a fouled jib
prevented the ship from turning. Recklessly exposing himself to
the Americans grape shot and rifle fire, Pellew climbed the rigging and freed the jib. Pellew went down to the bobstays to pass a hawser to Isis
and to a boat from the Blonde so these two ships could tow
the Carleton out of range of the rebels cannonade. Carleton
badly riddled from the fire of Royal Savage, Congress,
Enterprise, and the other gondola. These ships would come
into range of the Carleton, fire, and then fall back to
the lines to reload. The finest of their ragtag fleet, the
Royal Savage, turned upstream but was delayed due to poor
seamanship. Such a chance could not be passed up, so Inflexible broad sided
her. The crew, in a panic, rammed the ship into the
South end of Valcour Island. Lt. Longcraft, commanding the Loyal
Convert, didnt want to see such a prize go to waste and
seized the grounded Royal Savage. Longcraft was able to
capture twenty of the crew members who didnt bolt, and was
able to turn the Royal Savages guns on the rebel
fleet. Longcraft signalled to Pringle for support in capturing the
Royal Savage but was ignored. After losing half of his
boarding party, Longcraft realized that Pringle wasnt going
to send help. He therefore abandoned the Royal Savage.

General Arnold on the Congress
and the other gondolas were able to make it back to the main
fleet. At this point, Arnolds fleet is composed of the 12-gun
schooner Royal Savage commanded by Lt. Hawley (now
grounded), a ten gun sloop Enterprise ( both of these had
been captured by the rebels during an earlier attack on St. Johns
the previous May along with thirteen garrison prisoners and three
other gondolas), an eight gun schooner Revenge which the
rebels had built at Ticonderoga; three eight-gun galleys: Trumbull,
commanded by Capt. Warner, Congress, and Washington,
all three of which arrived to join Arnolds fleet around the
first of October, a six gun galley Lee, two five gun
gondolas: Connecticut and Spitfire, and five 3-gun
gondolas: Providence, Philadelphia, commanded by Lt.
Rice, Jersey, New York, and Boston. These
gondolas had flat bottoms and were fitted with square sails for
use in blowing weather and fitted with sweeps for calm weather. Liberty
was not in the fight because it had earlier left the fleet to
retrieve supplies, but it did see a little action on the night of
September 7th. On this occasion, the rebel fleet was off
Cumberland Head. A man on the shore called to the Liberty
who cautiously responded; a shot was fired from the woods, and
three of Libertys crew were wounded.

3/6 A Missed
Opportunity

Sir Guy Carletons fleet
was composed of the eighteen-gun, three masted (which was
something new), Inflexible.Inflexible was being
built in Quebec, but wanting the ship for his fleet ordered the
half-built ship dismantled, transported to St. Johns and
rebuilt. Just , Carleton the rebuilding of this ship occupied the
British from September 2nd to September 30th. If Carleton had
attacked the Lake instead of waiting for the construction of the Inflexible,
he could have caught the rebels off guard and seized control of
the lake, from where he had planned to later launch a land force
to meet General Howe at the Hudson River and cut off the Northern colonies time the Inflexible was completed however, it was
too late in the campaign . By the season to complete these plans.
The rest of Carletons fleet was composed of the fourteen
gun schooner Maria which had sailed from England, the 12-gun
schooner Carleton of which Lady the key parts were
brought from England in the holds of fourteen gunboats. Lt.
Schanke had prepared capstans and rollers to transport these two
ships to St. Johns from Chambly. Due to bad weather however,
the rollers became stuck in the mud, thus blocking the supply
route. After weeks of delay, Sir Guy ordered the ships dismantled
and carried piecemeal to St. Johns, where they would be
rebuilt. Carleton also had the 18 gun scow Thunderer, a
seven gun gondola Loyal Convert (which was named the American
Convert until captured by the British in June of 1774), and
twenty 1-gun boats commonly referred to as bateaux. Carletons
fleet was built in the St. Lawrence shipyards, and taken up the
Richelieu River to Chambly. From there, they were broken down,
carried around the rapids, and rebuilt at St. Johns.

The differences between the two
fleets were important. The fact that each colonial ship had two
or more different types of guns caused confusion among the
loaders and decreased overall efficiency. Also, the hulls of the
British ships were twice as thick (at two inches) as those of the
colonial fleet. Furthermore, the British fleet was manned by 1000
men who more or less were members of the Royal Navy, Artillery
and Hessian soldiers, while the 700 men of the colonial fleet
were drafts from the Northern Army of which only seventy had any
sea experience. Arnold reported to General Schuyler that we
have a wretched motley crew in the fleet; the marines the refuse
of every regiment and the seamen few of them ever wet with salt
water. The overall morale of the rebels was low so soon
after Gen. Washington was driven from New York City. Arnold had
the only position from which to thwart a British invasion from
Canada The building and transport of ships and wilderness
transport of supplies were slowed because Gates was in the
Congress complaining about Gen. Schuyler. Arnold also had some
dissension in the ranks. He had General Wynkoop arrested because
of a dispute over Arnolds authority. Overall, the British
force was about three times as strong as Arnold and his men. At
the time however, the rebels had no idea of the British numbers
or motives until they saw them.

4/6 A Heated Battle

By 12:30, according to Arnolds
personal account, the battle was getting quite heated. The
British ships, those that were able to due to the wind, closed in
and continued a very hot fire with round and grape shot.
Typically, round shot skipped over the water and buried itself in
the hull or cut away at the oars, while grape shot flew threw the
air in deadly squalls. When under fire, the soldiers first heard
the sound of the guns, and then spongers, loaders, rammers
leaped upon their pieces, showered by spray and rocked by close
misses. The guns that produced these blasts gave off a
tremendous amount of smoke and noise, causing the deafening
blasts to quickly darken the immediate area. The Congress
itself was attacked by two of the British schooners and a ship
which was packing eighteen pound guns. During the battle the Congress
was hulled, or rammed, twelve times, and seven shots which were
below the water level, but the men would just patch up the holes
and keep fighting. By one o clock, the Philadelphia
was careening over. Capt. George Pausch, in command of the
Hessian units of the British Navy noted in a diary that she (the Philadelphia)
began to careen over to one side, but in spite of this,
continued her fire. Shortly afterward the Philadelphia,
commanded by Capt. Grant, had sunk to the bottom of the lake. The
rebels, however, gave as good as they got. Capt. Pausch relates
an incidence in his diary that tells of a cannonball hit the
powder magazine of Lt. Dufais ship, almost killing all of
his men. Pausch tells that a bateau, commanded by Lt. Smith of
Artillery, took on board nine men while Pausch himself was took
on the remainder forty-eight men, which caused his own ship to be
dangerously close to sinking. The casualties from Lt. Dufais
ship included a cannonier named Rossemer, who was shot; a sailor
who lost his leg from the same ball that killed Rossemer; a
drummer named Pillant and the ships pilot were also both
killed in the blast. The battle thus continued until about five o
clock, when the Carleton and the other British ships found
that if they retreated to seven hundred yards, the gunboats
having spent their ammunition, they would be out of the range of
the rebels grape shot, which without the support of the
main British fleet, outclassed those of the British. According to
James Hadden of the Royal Artillery, little more than 1/3
of the British fleet was engaged on the eleventh.

Therefore the British regrouped
out of range and lined the ships across the lake in order to
prevent the rebel fleet from escaping during the night. After
dark on the 11th, Indians set fire to the Royal Savage.
Also after dark, the weather took a change for the worse. This
was fortunate for the rebels, because the addition of the cover
of a storm added to the cover of night enabled Arnold, along with
General Waterbury and Colonel Wigglesworth (whom Arnold
considered judicious, honest men and good soldiers,
nor would do nothing without consulting [them]
to formulate a plan. This plan involved slipping the ships one
after another, through a gap in the British blockade. Because
Pringle had lined his fleet one mile from the west shore to
beyond Garden Island, he unwittingly left a large hole for Arnolds
fleet. Trumbull led the escape during the night of the 11th
by hugging the western shore. The hooded lanterns used as signals
on each rebel ship were not noticed by the British. A testament
to Arnolds bravery is that the Congress brought up
the rear, which is the most dangerous position because there wasnt
another ship watching his back. A 220 year old
legend of the battle tells that the British bombarded a rock
early on the 12th because it looked like a rebel ship in the
early morning light. Today that rock is still referred to as
Carletons Prize. By the time the British
discovered the rebels escape, made repairs, and gave chase
on the 13th, twenty-four hours had slipped by due to either
Pringles inertia or Carletons
procrastination.

5/6 A Narrow Escape

Due to a favourable wind, the
rebel fleet had sailed ten miles to Schuylers Island by the
morning of the twelfth. The Americans spent three-quarters of
their ammunition on the eleventh. The crew of the Congress
had many holes to repair after being hulled and taking shots
below the water line the day before. Furthermore, the main mast
was damaged in two places and the yard mast was damaged in one
place. General Waterburys ship the Washington, (Capt.
Thatcher of the Washington died from wounds received on
the eleventh, Hawley of the Royal Savage took over) had
also been hulled several times and needed a new main mast. All of
Wateburys officers were killed on the eleventh. The New
York had lost all of its officers during the action on the
eleventh. Two gondolas were purposely sunk because of the damage
they sustained. By two o clock, the rebels caught a fresh
breeze to take them to Crown Point. Washington fell behind
because of shortened sails due to a patched mast, and was taking
on water. By evening however, the rebels were getting a
detrimental wind out of the South and the British were getting a
fortunate breeze from the Northeast. Thus the distance closed
between the pursuer and the pursued.

After the British fleet came in
site of the rebels early on the 13th, it took seven hours to
catch up and reach striking distance. The British had a good wind
until after spotted the rebel fleet on the thirteenth, therefore
when it [the wind] died, the crews were fresh for rowing. On the
other hand, the rebels had to row almost since leaving Schuylers
Island on the twelfth. At noon, the Maria,the Carleton,
and the Inflexible caught up with the colonial fleet at
Split Rock. The fierce battle that followed was short-lived
compared to that of the eleventh. The Congress and the Washington
defended the rear while the rest of the fleet tried to make their
escape. The Washington was attacked by the Maria and
the Inflexible. General Waterbury continued to fight as
his officers and crew fell around him. By the time the crew of
the Washington was taken prisoner at 12:30, Waterbury was
the only officer alive on the deck. After the defeat of the Washington,
the Maria and the Inflexible turned their guns on
the Congress, who was trading blows with the Carleton.
Arnolds first mate, Mr. Frost, was killed. He and three
others of the crew were given a hasty burial at sea during the
heat of battle. Supplies were so low that the surgeon cut up his
own coat to stuff the gaping wounds of the injured. The Congress
kept up the fight against the three British ships for two
more hours with broadside cannonades and hulling, the smoke thick
and the guns roaring, but in the end the Congress and four other
gondolas were fired and the crews ran into thick forest. These
men didnt stop until they arrived at Crown Point at four a.m.
on the fourteenth. By time Arnold had reached Crown Point, he and
his men had been without sleep for three days. The Lee was
blown up by her own crew, who then fled, and the Jersey
was captured. Only the Enterprise, Revenge, Trumbull and a
gondola escaped to Ticonderoga. The British could have destroyed
the remainder of the fleet at Ticonderoga, but instead the rebels
were allowed to escape. After the rebels fled Ticonderoga, the
British moved in and stayed one month, but did nothing. Overall,
there were only about twenty casualties on the thirteenth (there
were forty on the eleventh). The British fared better on this
occasion, there losses being less than forty
over the course of the three days.

6/6 The End of One
Battle, the Start of Another

The battle didnt end
there for Sir Guy Carleton. From the Jersey and the Washington,
Sir Guy had about 110 prisoners. With these he practiced a
psychological warfare in enlightened ways. Specific examples
include moments when he would praise the rebels bravery to
his officers while they (the prisoners) were present. He also
ordered his surgeon to to treat the wounded as they were
British soldiers. This was a good tactic on Carletons part,
because when the prisoners were later released at Ticonderoga,
one could easily tell that the they were having second thoughts
about the fight for independence. In fact, Colonel Trumbulls
opinion was that the kindness with which they had been
treated ...appeared to me to have made a very dangerous
impression. As a countermeasure to this, General Gates
ordered the newly freed to move on to Skeensbourough. As the
rebels waited for the final blow to fall, the invasion of America
sputtered out because of Carletons philosophy of kindliness
instead military vigor through tempering warfare with mercy
and Pringles blunders. In fact, Lt. Starke(Lady Maria), Lt.
Longcraft (Loyal Convert), and Lt. Schanke (Inflexible) wrote in
a letter to Capt. Pringle that in preparing and fitting out
the fleet and also in the operation afterward, no officer or
other person employed therein had so small a share as yourself.
Starke, Longcraft, and Schanke accused Pringle of not making an
attack plan, of not giving orders after the battle was joined,
permitting the rebels to escape, and of cowardice in delay of
pursuit.

Thus was the battle of Lake
Champlain. The rebels were defeated, but the inexperienced
colonials had thwarted an invasion from Canada which might have
hastened the end of the Revolution in favour of the British.
Arnolds bravery coupled with Carletons reluctance to
fight a decisive battle forced the British to abandon the lakes
and withdraw to Canada to wait out the coming brutal Winter of
1776.

Notes

Piers
Mackesy . The War for America 1775-1783,1964, p82-95.

Harrison
Bird . Navies in the Mountains: The Battles on the Waters
of Lake Champlain and Lake George, 1609-1814, 1962, p207.

Spears,
The History of Our Navy, p100,103; Van de Water, Lake
Champlain and Lake George, p195,197-198.

Spears,
The History of Our Navy, p100,103; Van de Water, Lake
Champlain and Lake George, p197; Hill, Key to Liberty,103;
MaClay, History , p56; Bird, Navies in the Mountains, p207,210.

Bird,
Navies in the Mountains, p211-212; Van de Water, Lake
Champlain and Lake George, p198-199; MaClay, History , p57-58;
James F Cooper, . The History of the Navy of the United
States of America Vol 1, 1839, p139; Lincoln, Naval
Records, p1275.